According to a study just released by Mark Ritson, assistant professor of marketing at the London Business School, prime time viewers are not watching your high priced spots.

�People tend to be more social during primetime and they are less tired, meaning they are more likely to engage in other activities,� Ritson says. �This would suggest that primetime ads are over-valued.�

Granted, the study was very small and directional in nature but it raises an interesting issue. Are people really viewing what they say they are viewing? Ritson plans to follow up with a bigger study [via MediaLife]
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"You have accept that most of it fails," said Jordan Levin, president of entertainment of AOL Time Warner's The WB network. "Ultimately, you are betting with your gut. We are a network that uses research -- but we are not research intensive. That's not the way decisions get made creatively."

That was the mood at Ad Age's Madison + Vine conference regarding marketing partnerships, product placement, and advertainment. Executives are struggling to find a new model as the old advertising model dies. In any new frontier, there are bound to be disastrous failures as well as incredible achievements. This is the exciting time. Before the new becomes the norm. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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Headquarters Films director Eric Steinman creates and directs a lot of television commercials such as successful comedy campaigns for McDonalds, Rolaids, Visa, the Jon Stewart Show, and more recently a pair of ads for USA Freedom Corps, starring Angie Harmon and Mariano Rivera.

A former agency creative with top agencies such as Young & Rubicam and BBDO/NY, where he served as a Creative Supervisor on Pizza Hut and worked on the HBO account, Steinman worked with some of the best talent in the business before becoming a director himself.

One of his most widely seen and talked about commercials is �What�s Different�, an ad for Viagra in which a man�s co-workers try to figure out what�s new and improved about their colleague, Joe. None of Joe�s pals are able to guess that what�s different is his sex life, courtesy of Viagra.

When it comes to Viagra, there is never a shortage of jokes. MadTV took it upon themselves to add to this list of jokes by spoofing Steinman's "What's Different" spot.

In a comedy sketch that aired on a recent episode of FOX�s MAD TV, Joe�s co-workers are given a hint � in the form of a rather large protrusion nearly bursting out of Joe�s pants. The happy and confident man arrives at work and is addressed by a series of oblivious co-workers who cannot figure out �what�s different� about Joe. �New haircut?� one asks. �New shoes?� queries another. �New tie?� The office receptionist doesn�t pick up on the obvious, even as Joe knocks her inbox off the desk with his "extension". "New shirt?" is her guess. Maybe it�s a promotion. �No, no promotion,� Joe responds as he bumps yet another co-worker in the rear and then pokes him in the eye with the power in his pants. Holding his wounded eye, the man asks, �Hey, Joe � what�s different with you?�

So be careful in the office if you take Viagra. View the spot here. (3MB)
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Primedia said Wednesday they are looking into strategic alternatives, including sale, for Seventeen magazine citing the market's lack of recognition for the strength of the magazine.

Primedia has retained Morgan Stanly to "explore strategic, value creation options for Seventeen and other properties.

"The (Seventeen) brand has successfully expanded its franchise over the past few years," said a spokesman for Primedia. "But the equity markets are not giving Primedia a market value that reflects the strength of Seventeen and its leadership in the teen category."

"There are opportunities to grow businesses beyond the current structure that Seventeen was in," Primedia Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Rogers told Reuters. "Because we have had so many approaches (on Seventeen), we said: maybe people have some ideas here."

Russel Simmons, founder of The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, is calling for a boycott of Pepsi.

Simmons says that he wants to start a boycott because Pepsi has allowed the Ozzy Osbourne spot to run when it pulled a spot that featured rapper Ludicrous. Pepsi pulled the Ludicrous spot because of Ludicrous' X-rated song lyrics but has let the Ozzy spot run when Ozzy's MTV show is replete with all sorts of potty mouthed language.

"The boycott is being called in response to Pepsi dropping Ludacris as spokesman and subsequently picking up the Osbournes, who are no less vulgar," a spokeswoman for Simmons and HSAN said in a statement.
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For the first time ever, there will be round the clock coverage of the Olympics. No more time delays. No more knowing the outcome of an event before it airs.

NBC will will use all of it's networks (NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, and Telemundo) to offer 24 hour coverage of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Dick Ebersol, chairman, NBC Sports & Olympics said, "We are committed to showcasing the athletes of the U.S. and the world in a way that has never been seen before. We will deliver the Olympics to the widest possible audience and give American TV viewers an unprecedented array of choices. [via MediaWeek]
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"Marketers are under pressure to deliver increased revenues, primarily through gains in market share," he pointed out. So, "if total market volume declines due to consumers' responses to war, marketers must advertise aggressively to capture a greater share of the smaller available market."

War would cause, "increased ad dollars, especially benefiting the already strong network and local television business. If the war ends within two months, and consumer spending levels begin moving upward, marketers will retain accelerated spending levels to assure that they regain revenues lost during the wartime period."